Ukraine's Zelenskiy: More than 1,100 Russian soldiers dead in less than a week in Bakhmut

Memorial service for Dmytro Kotsiubailo, nom-de-guerre 'Da Vinci', former volunteer and serviceman, Hero of Ukraine, in Kyiv
Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a memorial service for Dmytro Kotsiubailo, nom-de-guerre 'Da Vinci', former volunteer and serviceman, Hero of Ukraine, who was killed in a fight against Russian troops in the frontline town of Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 10, 2023. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura

March 12 (Reuters) - Russian forces suffered more than 1,100 dead in less than a week of battles near the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, the focal point of fighting in eastern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday.

"In less than a week, starting from 6th March, we managed to kill more than 1,100 enemy soldiers in the Bakhmut sector alone, Russia's irreversible loss, right there, near Bakhmut," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

He said Russian forces had also sustained 1,500 "sanitary losses" - soldiers wounded badly enough to keep them out of further action. Dozens of pieces of enemy equipment were destroyed as were more than 10 Russian ammunition depots.

Reuters could not independently verify the accounts.

Reporting by Ron Popeski and Nick Starkov; editing by Diane Craft

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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